Pyro - A My Hero Academia Story

Chapter 16

The battlefield was too open, too exposed.
Todoroki didn't like how it left them open to attack from any side.
He could handle anything his classmates might choose to throw at him, but judging by his partners slim build and sickly complexion, he wouldn't be able for much.
Time for a change of scenery.
***
"Kaminari. Behind me. Now."
Izuku scanned the field, trying to identify the major threats.
Hatsume. Where was Hatsume?
Izuku had allowed himself to be caught off guard once before, he wasn't about to let her get the drop on him again.
Kacchan could be a problem too, especially if he'd found himself a half-decent part-
Wait. Was that..?
Izuku laughed in spite of himself.
Mei Hatsume had to be one of the sharpest individuals he'd ever met.
Bakugou wouldn't be hunting her down if he needed her to progress.
Izuku felt the temperature drop.
Shit. Todoroki.
***
"OH YEAHHHHHHH!!!
AND WITH THAT, SHOTO TODOROKI MAKES HIS MOVE, TURNING THE ARENA INTO A WINTER WONDERLAND!
I HOPE THESE KIDS PACKED THEIR ICE SKATES, BECAUSE OTHERWISE THEIR SHOT AT VICTORY MIGHT BE SLIP-SLIDIN' AWAY"

Todoroki displayed his handiwork from atop the mound of ice he'd created.
If nothing else, it gave him a good view of the battlefield. Most of his opponents should know better than to attempt to take the high ground from him. He doubted Bakugou would be among them, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.
"So you're Endeavour's son, huh?"
Todoroki glanced backwards, surprised, to see his partner sitting cross-legged on the ice.
"Must be nice." He continued.
Todoroki ignored him, and went back to surveying the battlefield.
"I mean, with your lineage, becoming a hero was never going to be a problem, was it? God, it's like you were made for th-"
"Shut up."
Todoroki cut across him.
"You don't know me. You don't know shit about me. So shut your mouth." His partner regarded him with faint amusement, but said nothing further.
                                ***
"Kaminari, MOVE!"
Izuku dragged his team-mate behind him, before an explosion tore chunks out of the ice he'd just been standing on. Bakugou wasn't giving him time to breathe, never mind think. Backing up, he threw up a wall of fire before them. He needed a moment, a split second in which he could formulate a strategy. Todoroki's ice field had thrown a spanner in the works.
His manoeuvrability was way down, while Bakugou and Hatsume seemed unaffected. Hatsume probably had something to do with that, he would wager. Worse still, he had Kaminari to worry about. He couldn't use his quirk for fear of electrocuting Izuku, leaving him virtually defenceless.
Unless...
A loud bang sucked the air out of Izuku's lungs, and his flames were extinguished.
Hatsume stood before him, grinning.
"Whatcha think of my new baby?"
She asked, brandishing a shotgun-like contraption.
"It shoots a self-enclosed vacuum sphere into the heart of the fire. I built it for rescue, but apparently it works just fine in combat too."
A hand on Kaminari's chest, Izuku has no choice but to keep backing up, doing his best to fend off the combined efforts of Bakugou and Hatsume.
They came to the edge of the arena.
"Kaminari, d'you trust me?"
Kaminari regarded Izuku warily.
"Uh, I guess..?"
"Great, hold on tight."
Contorting his face into a sneer, Izuku turned to Bakugou.
"Didn't think you were the kind to hide behind a girl, Kacchan.
What's wrong, didn't you think you could take me alone?"
"YOURE DEAD, DEKU"
Bakugou screamed, launching himself at Izuku.
Izuku dived towards Bakugou, using his flames to generate extra lift and angle himself above him.
Bakugou contorted his body and let loose a full force blast, driving the air from Izuku's stomach, and lifting himself and Kaminari high into the air.
"Kaminari, DO IT!" Izuku wheezed.

Understanding flashed in Kaminari's eyes

A manic grin lit up his face.

"INDISCRIMINATE DISCHARGE: 1.3 MILLION VOLTS"!

                                ***
Izuku hit the ground. Hard.
Kaminari lay sprawled on top of him, giggling. He wouldn't be any use for the rest of the battle.
But at least he'd gotten rid of-
"That was smart. Real smart."
Shit.
"Using Bakugou to get you airborne? Genius." Hatsume continued.
"Your partner's quirk can't affect you if you're not earthing.
The electricity just arced to everyone else nearby."
She gestured to the other teams nearby, lying in groaning heaps.
Izuku started backing up. There was no way he could defend both of them, not with Kaminari in his current state.
"I'm a little offended, though.
You've dealt with me before. You know my style. That's why I'm so hurt."
She leaned down and patted the metal strip running from her thigh down to the sole of her boots.
"Did you really think I'd go up against an electric quirk without a lightning rod?"
Unclipping the pellet gun from her belt. She loaded it with a handful of purple, ominous pellets.
She closed one eye and aimed at Izuku.
"Nighty night."
A klaxon sounded.
"AND WITH THAT, WE HAVE OUR TOP 4 TEAMS!"
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I GIVE YOU YOUR 8 QUARTER FINALISTS!"

**Hey guys. I'm just gonna quickly address the extended hiatus here and leave it at that.
So firstly, I'm sorry. I know that it's annoying when a story is left to die like this, and I really appreciate everyone who stuck around. Basically, my mental health has been a lil shaky these past six months. When you're in that kind of mindset, finding the energy to be both creative and productive is so hard. But I can't tell you how much it meant to see that people were still voting and commenting. So thank you all so much.
If you're a new reader, welcome! This story should be updated on a biweekly basis or thereabouts going forward. So I hope you're ready 😊
Plus Ultra!**